The Toffees have been on a nightmare run of form which sees them languishing in the relegation zone after nine games played.

Koeman parted company with £150million in the summer in a bid to strengthen his squad following the departure of Romelu Lukaku.

But after defeats against Burnley and Lyon in the Premier League and Champions League respectively this month, and a 5-2 thumping at the hands of Arsenal last time out, the club felt it was about time to part company with the Dutchman.

Koeman was on the receiving end of yet another defeat (Image: AFP)

Arsenal struck five times at Goodison Park (Image: AFP)

With a look at the odds and the men available, here are seven potential names in the frame.

The dream one: Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo looks delighted to be included in this list (Image: Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty Images)

After his sacking at Bayern Munich last month, Ancelotti has already said that he's going to take a break from football before returning next season, and although there's a bit of cash behind Everton these days they surely couldn't come up with an offer to make him change his mind.

The one from within: David Unsworth

The former defender has been cutting his teeth in management with Everton's youth setup (Image: Getty)

The favourite with some bookmakers, former Blues defender Unsworth is highly regarded within the corridors of power at Finch Farm having coached Everton's under-21s since 2013.

He's overseen the development of exciting youngsters such as Tom Davies and Jonjoe Kenny during that time, and the club might see him as a safe pair of hands at least until the end of the season.

The glamorous one: Luis Enrique

The former Barcelona and Roma coach is out of work (Image: Getty Images Europe)

Without a job since leaving Barcelona in the summer, Champions League winner Luis Enrique is another who features surprisingly high in the betting.

Seemingly destined for a nomadic managerial career post-Barca - more Frank Rijkaard than Pep Guardiola - the former midfielder might be tempted by a Premier League pay packet, although Farhad Moshiri and Bill Kenwright would have to come up with an impressive sales pitch.

The romantic one: Eddie Howe

Is this Howe's time to make the step up? (Image: Steve Bardens)

Bournemouth boss Howe has never hidden the fact that he grew up as a huge Everton fan , and the stars might just be aligning for him to get the chance he craves at his boyhood club.

English football has seemingly been waiting for the 39-year-old to make the step up the league ladder for some time now, and with the feeling growing that he might just have taken Bournemouth as far as he can he'd surely be tempted by an approach from the Blues.

The underwhelming one: Chris Coleman

Sorry Chris, nothing personal (Image: REUTERS)

Nothing should be taken away from Coleman's role in taking Wales from 112th in the world to the Euro 2016 semi-finals in five years, but you get the feeling that any move for the Dragons' boss would be met with skepticism from Blues fans.

Should he leave Wales following their failure to qualify for the World Cup Coleman does deserve a crack at a top club job, but he might find this one to be a little too big for him.

The left-field one: Laurent Blanc

Really? (Image: Xavier Laine/Getty)

He hasn't been linked with the job at all and is nowhere to be seen in the betting, but the former France and PSG boss Blanc might be tempted should the opportunity arise.

You can joke about the quality of Ligue 1 all you want but he still won it three times and has experience of a major international tournament, while having played for Manchester United he also knows the Premier League too.

It's a tough one to envisage though, isn't it?

The logical one: Sean Dyche

Is it Dyche's time? (Image: Clive Brunskill)

He recently masterminded a win over Everton at Goodison, and Burnley boss Dyche would surely represent a sound appointment for the Blues should they wish to make it.

Whether or not he'd be the type of name the club want as they bid to get closer to the elite clubs is up for debate, but Everton teams in the Premier League have always been at their best when they sacrifice all else for hard work - something that Dyche prides himself on.